Again and again, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s old town is the scene of provocations, outbreaks of violence and it is not uncommon for a (much) larger conflict to flare up from here. It’s been that time again for a few weeks: new incidents occur almost every day, and fear of the developments in the coming weeks is increasing.
The Temple Mount borders on the Jewish and Muslim quarters of Jerusalem’s Old City, behind it is the district of Silwan, where confrontations between the Palestinian population and the Jewish settlers and the Israeli security forces repeatedly occur. The area is already a hotspot because of its geographic location, quite apart from the religious charge: The Temple Mount is the third holiest site in Islam – from the place where the Dome of the Rock now stands, Mohammed is said to have ascended to heaven. For Jews it is even the holiest place, the two Jerusalem temples were located here and for Christians the Temple Mount is so important because some of the most important events in the life of Jesus are said to have taken place here.
Those who do not know the status quo around the Temple Mount may describe it as surprising. It was Moshe Dayan, Israel’s legendary defense minister during the Six Day War, who was able to establish the regulation in 1967 that is still valid today: Non-Muslims may visit the Temple Mount at certain times, but not pray on the site. Muslims are responsible for the administration of the Temple Mount – this in turn is carried out by the Waqf authority, which is under Jordanian custody. However, Israel is responsible for security on the ground and can also change access restrictions if it deems the security situation to require it.
In the past, the Israeli government restricted access for younger Muslims for a certain period of time, often setting the age limit for entry at 40, 45 or 50 years. If you talk to people in the vicinity of the Temple Mount, you are often confronted with the concern that this could escalate the situation in the coming weeks – on the Temple Mount, in Jerusalem, in the entire region.
Even postcards with Christian symbols make security guards nervous at the entrance. If you answer the question of what you want to do with these truthfully by saying that you liked the cards and that you happened to have bought them beforehand, the security guard’s mood swings: “Please keep it in your backpack and don’t unpack it on the Temple Mount – closed for your own safety.” The calm is deceptive, the fear of new riots on the holy hill in Jerusalem’s old city is omnipresent.
Almost every day, Jews come to the Temple Mount in small groups of about ten to thirty people. Sometimes prayer activities take place to provoke the Muslims present, but often it is just a walk, a show of presence. At 10:30 a.m., non-Muslims must leave the Temple Mount before being allowed to re-enter it for an hour at 12:30 p.m. That’s the status quo. Not infrequently, however, in the past few days, Jews came up just moments before the Temple Mount closed and stayed longer accordingly. The groups are flanked by heavily armed Israeli police officers.
A Muslim on the Temple Mount waves, the area must be left: “The time has come,” he says, repeating himself hectically. When asked why he is sending all non-Muslims off the Temple Mount, but not, as one would assume, he does not draw the attention of the Jewish visitors in particular, as one would assume, he grimaces: “These are Jews,” he says in one frighteningly derogatory way that has hardly ever been heard anywhere else. Contempt is coupled with indifference. You won’t accept them, but you won’t let yourself be provoked either.
Nationalist Jews sometimes wave Israeli flags on the Temple Mount grounds. The “haTikwa”, the Israeli anthem, is often sung. But sometimes also “Jerusalem aus Gold” – a chant that has burned itself into the Israelis’ memories since 1967 as the winning song in the Six-Day War. But the reactions of the Muslims on the Temple Mount are surprising. Despite inciting Internet messages from some Islamist organizations, there have not (yet) been any outbreaks of violence or openly displayed hate speech. It seems as if one does not want to take the individual provocateurs seriously.
The reaction is different when one mentions the visit of the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, to the Temple Mount earlier in the year. Even if the assumption that the second intifada was triggered by the visit of the then opposition politician Ariel Sharon to the Temple Mount in 2000 is not entirely undisputed: It is obvious that Ben-Gvir provoked a highly dangerous situation with his visit to the Temple Mount. The Muslims know that, but so do the Jews, who for the most part also do not want to approve of such actions.
Ben-Gvir’s approach finds supporters in large numbers in the adjacent Jewish quarter. Since the anti-government protests, the tensions in the vicinity of the Temple Mount have experienced another component. There are also educational institutions in the Jewish Quarter, some of which are ultra-Orthodox. When, as part of a protest against the Netanyahu VI cabinet, a demonstration march with dozens of Israeli flags, but also with a large rainbow flag, recently marched away from the Western Wall through the Jewish Quarter, there were tumultuous scenes: Ultra-Orthodox schoolchildren insulted the demonstrators, the security personnel had to intervene. Most orthodox Jews are opposed to homosexuality, and they don’t want to see such messages here. In this area, not only do confrontations between religions and ethnic groups erupt, ideological and social upheavals are also evident.
However, if one speaks to other people around the Temple Mount, one hears the same attitude all too often: many of the Jewish population condemn targeted provocations, such as those of Ben-Gvir. Quite a few Muslims would have no problem with Jews praying respectfully on the Temple Mount. And the rainbow flag did not meet with applause everywhere, but only a few people were really aggressive.
Especially here and in the immediate vicinity, there is still great fear that the violence could escalate in the coming weeks. The reason is obvious when you look at the calendar: This year, the Muslim month of fasting, Ramadan, coincides with the Jewish festival of Passover, to which Jews made a pilgrimage to the Temple Mount more than two millennia ago. Again and again there are calls from Islamist groups to come to the Temple Mount and protect it – this is likely to increase around the holidays. In the past two years, there have been increased outbreaks of violence during Ramadan – and that without the ultra-right Israeli government in office.
“Lailat al-Qadr”, the night of the revelation of the Koran, also falls in the last days of Ramadan, when thousands of Muslims traditionally come to the Temple Mount to pray together. Because of the tense security situation, the Temple Mount is to remain closed to non-Muslims during this time, which Ben-Gvir himself has already heavily criticized – provocations before or at this time are of course not ruled out. The mood in the Middle East has become explosive again. It seems the skirmishes around East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip now only need that one medium-sized spark to become a conflagration. The danger of this spark emanating from the Temple Mount can no longer be denied.